(CNN) – As the international community debates how to stop the bloodshed in Syria, intelligence experts are looking closely at possible terrorist scenarios that could occur should the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad go.

Among those scenarios is the question of whether terrorists could get their hands on Syria's weapons arsenal , which includes not only stockpiles of chemical and biological agents that have not been accounted for with the international community, but also a sophisticated anti-ship missile system as well as a small fleet of surface to surface missiles.

"If things continue to deteriorate in Syria, there are a number of scenarios in which proliferation becomes a risk," said Aram Nerguizian, visiting fellow at Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The Syrians have been playing with chemical weapons capabilities for decades. By regional standards, you have a regionally mature chemical weapons system in Syria."

Syria has not only chemical weapons, according to Nerguizian, but also the means to deliver them via its long-range missile program.

Last year, the Russians delivered an anti-ship cruise missile system known as the "Yakhont." It delivers death at supersonic speed, and because of its ability to fly low-altitude, there isn't much warning to be had before it strikes its target. It's a viable threat to naval vessels, including parts of the Israeli fleet positioned within its range.

Israeli officials have been commenting on their concerns for weeks that weapons systems could be quietly slipped across the border into Lebanon and the waiting arms of Hezbollah.

The thought is also on the minds of Pentagon officials, who are considering worst case scenarios as Syrian politics play themselves out. "We are concerned about all chemical weapons and biological weapons stockpiles around the world. It's important to maintain the security of those stockpiles, including in Syria," said Pentagon spokesman George Little.

While Little says he's heard of no effort to deploy chemical or biological weapons in Syria, he says, "We certainly hope that measures are being taken inside Syria to ensure that they aren't used and that they are safeguarded."

Hope isn't very reassuring for a former intelligence official who worked in the region. Speaking anonymously because the majority of his work was done under cover, the former officer says the international community should be careful what it wishes for in Syria, because an uncontrolled removal of Assad could create vacuums among the factions that terror groups stand ready to exploit.

"There's a good chance that in the chaos, Hezbollah will have access to weapons. It would lead to a strengthened Hezbollah, and remember, they are already a formidable organization," said the former officer, who points to what happened in Libya as an example of weapons being moved across close borders, and into Mali, Egypt, and Sinai, as the Moammar Gadhafi regime fell.

Syria's political chaos could be a blessing for a number of groups looking for opportunities to arm themselves, including al Qaeda. While intelligence officials don't believe al Qaeda has a strong foothold in Syria the way it did in Libya, former FBI agent and terrorism expert Ali Soufan says there many other groups who could potentially exploit the situation.

"You cannot separate anything from anything. Terrorism usually happens because there are incubators that enable groups and individuals to take advantage of situations," said Soufan, who now runs The Soufan Group, which develops counterterrorism strategies for international clients. "In Syria, there are possible incubators, including the lack of unity among the opposition and so the potential for a power vacuum, there are regional actors with different national aims and outcomes they'd like to see, there is the potential for sectarian conflict, and so on. What we seeing today in Syria is a battle where all of these incubators are showing themselves."

If there is a silver lining, it is that all of these scenarios are still very much in the "if" column.

"It's still too soon," says Nerguizian. "A lot of the talk about Syria is that it's moments away, I think that's premature. You have a regime that has held onto power despite everyone's predictions that it was moments away from collapsing."

soundoff(14 Responses)

Yvette

You forgot the other part, and you must also know that vrcioty comes with patience, relief with affliction ease with hardship, knowledge with hard work so sow your seeds wisely for you shall reap what you shall sow.Somber 123

well it is a mess in syria , but if iran is not dealt with , syria will look like pratice drill against the onslot of horrors that iran will leash upon the entire region, that result in a wide spead slaughter that will break through the doors of europe.
russia is not the supporter of this , but rather one guy named putin. obama is taking polls instead of crushing the iranian threat. we need a firm wise resolve, not hollow words of hope from obama.

I have. First of all, it has 100% free and high quality LIVE video. And of notnect, I have to say pretty fair and balanced. Easily more fair and balanced than Fox News. It\'s mostly guys with English accents. They sound British.

Russian advise to Bashar Asad- Learn from snake: Is it a coincident to see the worse riots by army since ever in Syria right after Russian's visit? Don't Russians have a fame about them to invade countries with rootless attitudes, lately demonstrated in Chechnya and before that invading Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and all of the eastern Europe, mercilessly, and now their best advise to Bashar Asad? Even Napoleon Bonaparte and Hitler with their entire armies couldn't pass through them. After all, what can we expect to learn from snake?

[..YouTube..] Syria's fight is limited to the conruty itself. It would not surprise me if the entire nation is divided and supporters of the current regime do so only out of fear. Cut off money to syria, bankrupt their economie, and their leaders won't be able to hold their regime for long. They simply couldn't fund it anymore and collapse. This is the only way to do it, let syria free itself, no foreign military is needed, but blocking foreign aid to the regime is highly beneficial for the supports.17 November 2011, 14:03

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CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.